Another Chance

Shadows

Dario POV

The risk that we took. That risk. My dad knew, and he's supportive, but my mom...she's a different story. I really wanted to wait to spare her. Janet. I knew. I knew what my mom could be like. That's why I put off the meet and greet as long as I could. I'd seen her in action. I should've waited until the baby was here. Then we could control the narrative better. Maybe. I didn't know.

I could see the anger rising in Janet. I felt it when I took her hand as we left. Felt the defeat as it poured from her body.

We were hiding our happiness because of fear. Or really I was hiding, but us going only proved me right. I never ever wanted to put her through that. I had warned her. She didn't want to listen to me. I knew.

After that night she remained a little more reserved in how she spoke to me. How she was around me.

It wore at me. I love her so much. I would do anything for her. She had to know that.

I knew I defended us. I mean I walked out. With her. Us together as one. That nagging feeling would creep in though. It would tell me that I should've done more. Said more.

I caught her one day sitting outside on the patio staring out at nothing, her hands clasped around her knees.

We were at our house in London. The rain had finally stopped, but the heavy clouds hung low mirroring her mood. She sat in the backyard. Eissa was at school. Janet was taking it easy because of the pregnancy.

I stepped quietly outside, the wooden door creaking gently behind me. I leaned against the frame, watching her. She looked so small, lost in her thoughts, her long hair cascading around her shoulders. I longed to reach out, to wrap her in my arms, but something held me back. Maybe it was the silence that had settled between us, or perhaps the fear of worsening her hurt. I didn't know.

"Janet?" I finally called softly.

She initially didn't respond, merely shifted her gaze to the garden, where the flowers had begun to bloom despite the storm. I took a step closer.

She now realized I was approaching. Her eyes softened as I stepped closer to her.

"Hey baby." Her voice soft.

"Hey."

I sat next to her, afraid to touch her. We hadn't been intimate since we left my parent's house and that was two weeks ago.

"You good?"

She nodded slightly, but remained still, her expression unreadable. I moved closer to her, the coldness of the bench seeping through my jeans. I studied her face, the way her brows knit together, the way her lips pressed into a thin line.

"I know it's been hard," I said, searching for the right words. "I'm so sorry for what my mother said. You and our baby deserve so much better. So much more. I just... I can't even begin to express how it made me feel. I don't really know how you feel."

Her eyes flickered to mine, and I felt a pang in my chest.

"It's not just her, Darius," she said at last, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm scared. What if she's right? What if I'm not enough for you or for our child?"

"Don't say that," I urged, taking her hand in mine. "You are more than enough. You're everything to me. I love you, and nothing will change that." I squeezed her hand gently, hoping to convey the depth of my feelings.

"But she doesn't see it that way," Janet replied, her voice trembling. "She sees a woman who isn't worthy of her son—a woman who hasn't been able to give him the life he deserves. I'm not the perfect daughter-in-law she envisioned. Hell I've already been married and divorced...how many times now? Too many! Maybe you shouldn't be with me."